Gianluigi Lano only started bottling under his own label in the early ‘90s, working vineyards his father handed down in the sleepy, forgotten township of San Rocco Seno d'Elvio. The village, a town square and not much more, sits at Barbaresco's southern edge, and only a slice falls within the DOCG boundaries.

Rocche Massalupo is San Rocco’s crown jewel—the only cru that belongs entirely to the village. The vineyard wraps around a hillside from southeast to northwest. Lano farms south-southwest facing parcels, sharing the slope with Pio Cesare, who considers it a key site.

Walk through Gianluigi's vineyards and you'll see chaos. Wild grasses, untamed rows, and abundant life between the vines. No herbicides, no pesticides, just Nebbiolo growing the way it did in the 19th century. You taste that wildness in every sip: red cherry, blood orange, tobacco, dried roses, that signature tar note, all wrapped in silk.

The sommelier herd appeared in a flash. One day nobody knew Lano. Next day, The French Laundry was glass-pouring it. Then the Quince empire jumped in. Suddenly everyone recognized the inherent quality in what was previously a “no-name” Barbaresco. Honestly? This producer reminds us a little of Barolo’s late, great Lorenzo Accomasso in his totally natural, traditional approach—and inexplicable obscurity.

WHY YOU'LL LOVE IT

• Irresistible perfume: Multiple Michelin-starred wine programs were drawn in by the same thing we were: this wine’s brilliant aromas and flavors of strawberry nectar, roses, tar, and red cherry. It captures Barbaresco’s “femininity” better than anything we’ve offered this year.
  

• Pristinely natural: Gianluigi was certified organic in 2018, and farms naturally, without chemicals, ploughing, or even thinning the canopy much. This is pure wine that will appeal to any Nebbiolo lover.
  

• Drinks Now, Ages Forever: The 2020 has that rare Nebbiolo duality—approachable today but built for decades. Having tasted Lano's wines from the early 2000s, they're still singing.

HOW TO SERVE IT

• 58-62°F in big Burgundy bowls. Decant 45 minutes if drinking now.
  

• Perfect with agnolotti dal plin in brown butter and sage, white truffle risotto, or cheeses like La Tur or Robiola.
  

• Drinking window: Now through 2040.